Carol Wolf

The meat of the story is a billionaire who buys an island, and then sets up a reality show of willing volunteers who battle to the death or to fame and fortune. There are no guns - a lot of swords, armor, morningstars, and spears. We get into the heads of several of the fighters, and see their different strategies, woven with different approaches to the nature of bravery and honor.

But there is the other story, of the reality show with announcers and game designers. And there is the hint of more threads, and more plots, until they are all unwoven at the end, in a satisfying conclusion.

I thought this to be a riveting read, with several story lines going at once, set within an exploration of the primal nature of personal combat.… (altro)

This Young Adult urban fantasy book focuses on Shannon, a high school girl out of her element. Her mother had recently remarried, to Richard Corbett, and then was in a serious auto accident. So Shannon is living with her stepfather in a strange place, waiting for her mother to either come out of her coma, or die. It is not a comfortable place to be. So she wanders over the hill behind the house to a nearby large park, and listens to the coyotes talk to the moon at night.

One day she meets a boy and his fellow ragamuffins at the park. They talk and eat what has been scrounged, and run with sheer joy. Shannon begins to feel more comfortable with this group than she does at what passes for home. There are supernatural elements woven into her tale that she first figures out, then asks to become a part of.

This book captured the feelings of "otherness" very well, and the disconnections and reconnections Shannon went through. The story flowed well, and took several turns that I did not expect. I recommend this particularly to readers of urban fantasy and of young adult books.… (altro)

This is a first book in a series. The protagonist is Amber, a woman who transitions into a wolf at will. Within the first few pages, Amber has saved the life, and become the owner, of a demon. But that's only the set-up - the real problem is the World Snake about to devour the greater Los Angeles Basin.

The author clearly knows the neighborhoods of LA, and how long it really takes to get from one place to another - lending a reality to the narrative that is rarely seen in urban fantasy. And Amber, while acting as a "lone wolf", is not alone in the search for a way out - there are other magic users who are also working the problem, each group in their own way.

The plot winds tighter and tighter, leading to a satisfying conclusion. Even better, the tag end was not what I expected!… (altro)

I enjoyed it. This is a memoir on film, with the building and launching of a boat as the frame within which Eric tells the story of his life. He has had some fascinating adventures getting to where he is. The story is mostly told, rather than shown, but Eric is always doing something on screen while he talks. He might be clearing brush, or knotting a rope around a rigging piece, or herding sheep. One cannot go back in time to film the incidents he relates, but one can have an engaging activity onscreen while the stories are told, and that is done well. The individual episodes of his memory kept my attention, the visuals interesting, and the repeated motif of the boat building and ultimate sailing keep the arc of the story afloat.

In the interests of full disclosure - my husband, a friend, and I had visited them several years ago, specifically to be in this film. I am briefly seen, along with a flash of our dog, Pippin. My husband and friend have more time onscreen, among the medieval-style fighters, as well as dancers, So it was fun to see ourselves.… (altro)